DPP passes proposal on survey results

STOP BICKERING Though its authors deny it is aimed at specific individuals, the proposal comes amid heated infighting between two DPP presidential aspirants

By Flora Wang / STAFF REPORTER

The Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Central Standing Committee passed a proposal yesterday to prevent party members who are running for the legislative or presidential primary from publicizing any survey results conducted by individual camps.

DPP Secretary-General Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) told a press conference that the proposal, initiated by committee member Huang Ching-lin (黃慶林), had been unanimously approved.

The resolution will remain effective until the end of the two primaries, but no punishment was proposed for violators, Huang said.

The proposal, Lin added, was not put forth to target any specific individuals.

However, it came after the campaigns of two DPP presidential contenders -- Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) -- were bickering over the results of a survey released by Hsieh's camp on Monday.

The infighting continued yesterday as seven DPP legislators affiliated with Hsieh's camp pointed the finger at Su for the impasse on this year's government budget bill.

The Budget Law states that the central government's budget proposal should be passed one month before the next fiscal year starts, but the government's budget request for this year has yet to clear the Legislature.

At a press conference held in Hsieh's campaign headquarters, DPP Legislator Lee Chun-yi (李俊毅) held Su responsible for the continuous boycott of the budget bill by the pan-blue camp.

Lee said Su had been too busy attacking Hsieh for the DPP's presidential primary and had failed to determine if there might not have been something untoward with the Cabinet's policy push.

"Those who are vying for the presidency should place the interests of the nation [ahead of personal interests]," he said.

"We do not hope to see infighting or personal attacks within the party as a result of the primary, but we can review how government polices have been pushed and reflect on our actions," he said.

"If we do not reflect, the Cabinet will suffer from paralysis and we can all forget the presidential election," he said.

DPP Legislator Lin Kuo-ching (林國慶), who attended the conference, said: "Surely the Cabinet has the ability to help pass the bill in the legislature. It is a matter of whether the Cabinet wants to do it or not."

In response, DPP Legislator Lin Yu-sheng (林育生), a spokesman for Su's campaign office, requested that pro-Hsieh lawmakers refrain from sullying the party's image by making public criticisms.

Lin said the opposition parties, rather than the Executive Yuan, deserved the blame for stalling the budget bill in the legislature.

DPP Legislator Wang Sing-nan (王幸男) also spoke in Su's defense in his capacity as a caucus whip.

"I am very saddened to hear our party associates demanding the Executive Yuan take responsibility for the delay. They [pro-Hsieh] lawmakers have put the cart before the horse," Wang said.

The pan-blue camp has to take the blame for the delay as it made the budget bill hostage in exchange for its proposed amendment to the Central Election Commission organic bill, Wang said.

Asked for comments on the Su-Hsieh bickering, DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun, who is also competing in the primary, said the party's presidential aspirants should pursue a gentleman's competition as requested by the DPP's supporters.

"It will not be a normal primary until all contenders discuss national policies or matters of right and wrong," he said.